Goodbye Pownce, Hello Six Apart — We have some very big news today at Pownce. We will be closing the service and Mike and I, along with the Pownce technology, have joined Six Apart, the company behind such great blogging software as Movable Type, TypePad and Vox.

Six Apart acquires and shuts down Pownce — Blogging company Six Apart has acquired micro-blogging startup Pownce for undisclosed financial terms. It looks like one of those acquisitions where the buyer was more interested in the people than the product — the Pownce service will shut down in two weeks.

Welcome Pownce team! — I am pleased to announce that today we are welcoming the Pownce team and technology to Six Apart. Pownce launched in June of 2007 and opened to the public earlier this year, but, as mentioned on the Pownce blog, Pownce.com will be closing in the next few weeks.

Apple: Mac users should run multiple anti-virus — One of Apple's better Mac vs PC ads features a strong message that Windows computers are a magnet for viruses (malware) but Macs are automatically protected. As PC “ah-choos” his way through an infection, Mac offers a tissue and smugly infers …

Apple now “encourages” antivirus use for Mac OS X — After years of jabbing Microsoft for the seeming need to run antivirus software on Windows, Apple has quietly posted its own recommendation for similar security with its own operating system. — The knowledge base article …

Bittorrent declares war on VoIP, gamers — The next internet meltdown — Gamers, VoIP and video conference users beware. The leading BitTorrent software authors have declared war on you - and any users wanting to wring high performance out of their networks.

Apple a ‘bright spot’ during lackluster Black Friday kick-off — Although this year's holiday shopping season is expected to present challenges for many consumer-oriented hardware companies, Apple is already showing signs of bucking the trend with Black Friday Mac sales reported to be better than expected.

You asked for it: instant cashback! — When we asked users about the improvements they'd like us make to Live Search cashback, many said they want to receive cashback instantly instead of waiting for 60 days. Well, I'm happy to announce that we've just released the Instant cashback feature with eBay.

Blockbuster, Microsoft team up on mobile services — asmith@dallasnews.com — Blockbuster Inc. caught up to the competition last week by introducing a set-top box that brings rentals from the Internet to the television. — Now, the Dallas-based company hopes to pass the pack by teaming …

Apple offers free licensing for Mini DisplayPort spec — When Apple recently introduced its revamped notebook line, it also introduced the world to the Mini DisplayPort. It turns out that the company is offering no-fee licenses to anyone interested in developing products that use the Mini DisplayPort specification.

Reviving F—ed Company — Now that we can officially say we're in a recession, it makes sense that there's a resurgence of sites devoted to floundering companies. — We have to bleep out some names, but they include LayoffBlog.com, Screwdd F—edStartups, It Died, Timely Demise and web2.0f …

PayPal Brings Allowances Into the 21st Century — PayPal, the online payment division of eBay, wants to help parents put a financial leash on their teenage children. — Last month, the company quietly began testing a new system called PayPal Student Account, a flexible way for parents …

FCC leaks tiny VAIO with WWAN — Sony's first netbook? — They might not like it, but Sony looks ripe to enter the netbook market in the US. Unveiled today is the backside of this tiny “notebook PC” as described by the FCC under the model numbers PCG-1P1L and PCG-1P2L (PCG synonymous with Sony's VAIO laptop brand).

Nokia's Next Move — The device maker is expected to announce a major new product Tuesday. — At Nokia, the clock is ticking. — The Finnish mobile communications giant is poised to make a major announcement Tuesday at its Nokia (nyse: NOK - news - people ) World conference …

Amazon SimpleDB Grows Up — The private beta test of Amazon SimpleDB has gone really well. We've learned a lot during the beta and have fine-tuned the feature set in order to make sure that we are meeting the needs of current and future users. — Before I delve into the details, let me get one important fact out of the way.

A Microsoft Veteran Embraces Open Source — Keith Curtis has just written a book about the future of software. — That in itself isn't unique. More unusual is that Mr. Curtis, an 11-year veteran of Microsoft, the world's largest software company, believes deeply that open source is the future of software.

Memeorandum runs rings around Google News — If you want to know what's happening in the world, then Memorandum will tell you - at least in a couple of areas. It's an automated news clipping service, known in the trade as a “news aggregator”. It provides headlines and short texts updated every few minutes …

Why Carl Icahn Didn't Buy Enough Yahoo! — Yang is heading out, the stock is crazy cheap and the company is profitable. What gives, Carl? — You can say a lot of bad things about Yahoo!. The boys at Google stole the Internet out from under them. Chief Executive Jerry Yang choked …

FCC Head Pushes Free Web Plan — Outgoing Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is pushing for action in December on a plan to offer free, pornography-free wireless Internet service to all Americans, despite objections from the wireless industry and some consumer groups.

Blockbuster OnDemand Unboxing & Setup — So much for a day of vacation recovery... UPS just arrived with the new Blockbuster OnDemand movie rental box, by 2Wire. If you recall, $99 gets you the box and 25 video rental credits. Once those have been consumed, content begins at $1.99 a pop.